Bangladesh has blocked the Facebook social networking site because of "objectionable" materials it contained about the Prophet Mohammad and the country's political leaders, a telecoms regulatory official said on Sunday.

The government move followed publication of caricatures of the Prophet deemed hurtful to the religious sentiments of the country's majority Muslim population, the official said. He said the ban, imposed late on Saturday, was expected to be temporary.

Facebook was barred last week by a court in Pakistan, also overwhelmingly Muslim, because of an online competition to draw the Prophet Mohammad. The video sharing website YouTube was blocked for a time.

Publications of similar cartoons in Danish newspapers in 2005 sparked violent protests in Muslim countries. Around 50 people were killed in 2006 demonstrations over the cartoons.

Hundreds of protesters marched through Dhaka on Friday demanding action against Facebook and those accused of defaming the Prophet.

Actually the Govt. banned the site because of the 'obnoxious'
carricature of country's prime minister and the leader of the opposition
(both of them are female) posted by a citizen who has been arrested
yesterday. The Govt. is exploiting the Muhammed issue as a pretext for
ban as the cotnroversy of Muhammed started well before this funny
carricature of country's leaders.

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